Absurd, unfortunate: Rajnath on Kejriwal's claims on Modi's 'retirement', Adityanath's 'removal'

Rajnath Singh and Arvind Kejriwal. File pic

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "retirement" and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "removal" on Thursday as "absurd and unfortunate". Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal on Thursday repeated his claim that Modi will retire from politics once he attains 75 years of age in 2025, following the party's rules, and added that the prime minister is seeking votes for Union Home Minister Amit Shah as his successor. In addition, he claimed that if the BJP were to win back control at the federal level, Adityanath would be ousted as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in less than two months.

Per a PTI report, hitting back at Kejriwal during a public meeting in Rajajipuram, Singh said, "The chief minister of Delhi said that Modi ji will not become the prime minister after the 2024 elections. I am surprised. He has just come out on bail, he has to go to jail again after June 1 and he is talking such nonsense about the prime minister of India." "The entire country wants Modi ji to be the prime minister in 2024 as well as 2029," he added.

Kejriwal was given temporary bail by the Supreme Court on May 10 until June 1, the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections. On June 2, the court ordered Kejriwal to turn himself in and return to jail. Chief Minister of Delhi was taken into custody on March 21. Singh further said, "He (Kejriwal) also spoke nonsense about our chief minister. Modi ji will not remain the prime minister, Yogi ji will not remain the chief minister ... That means only he (Kejriwal) will remain and no one else." "It is very unfortunate to say such things about such strong and effective leadership. I want to say that politics cannot be done only by telling lies. Meaningful politics can be done only by speaking the truth," the senior BJP leader told PTI.

In addition, the military minister mocked Kejriwal for his assertions about Delhi's progress. "Kejriwal makes a lot of assertions regarding Delhi's progress. Visit Delhi and observe its state. What has he done? If anyone deserves the most credit for the developments that have occurred in Delhi, it is Prime Minister Modi ji." Adityanath will lose his position as chief minister if the BJP were to take back control, Kejriwal declared earlier in the day at a press conference.

"Prime Minister Modi is going to cross the age of 75 next year and has decided to make Amit Shah the prime minister of the country," Kejriwal said. He claimed that Modi has been working to ensure the same. "There is only one person who could prove to be a thorn in the way of Amit Shah and that is Adityanath. They have now decided to remove Yogi Adityanath within two months if their government is formed," Kejriwal said. On the opposition's allegation that democracy will end if the BJP returns to power, Singh said, "They (opposition) say that if Modi ji returns to power, dictatorship will come in the country. He will change the Constitution, democracy will be in trouble. If democracy faced any danger, it was during Indira Gandhi's time as prime minister." "We have never strangled democracy. The Congress has changed the Constitution 132 times. Modi ji has not made a single change in the last 10 years. The opposition is short of issues, that is why it is lying to the public," Singh said.

(With Inputs from PTI)